Company news information may be sent to brice.w@thecityjournals.com.
DEFENSE
• Vector, a Bluffdale-based defense company, has secured a $20 million loan from J.P. Morgan to expand its domestic small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) manufacturing capacity. The financing follows a Series A funding round in September that raised $61 million. Vector will deploy the J.P. Morgan debt to expand production at its Utah factory, reinforce domestic supply chains and increase inventory purchases. The company serves military and law enforcement partners requiring supply-chain-secure, domestically produced sUAS.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Street Tacos is the best after-midnight place to eat in Utah, according to a survey by ACE.com. It is followed by No. 2 Belgian Waffle & Omelet Inn in Midvale and No. 3 Lucky 13 Bar and Grill in Salt Lake City. The top location nationally is Crispy Burger in Burlington, Vermont.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Women Tech Council has launched a free program, called the AI Ready Returnship, to help women confidently relaunch their careers in today’s technology workforce. It is designed for people who have been out of the workforce for six months or more or who want to transition into new roles. The five-session course includes four virtual sessions and one in-person session, starting April 16 and continuing through June 11. Details are at https://www.womentechcouncil.com/air_returnship/.
EXPANSIONS
• CenExel, a Draper-based clinical research site network, has announced a series of strategic expansions across its Tampa, Denver, Anaheim, Toms River (New Jersey) and Atlanta sites. The company said the expansion significantly enhances its capabilities in clinical pharmacology, early-phase, central nervous system and metabolic research. Recent investments include new purpose-built facilities, expanded inpatient and outpatient capacities, and enhanced pharmacy and laboratory infrastructure. The expansion features more than 10,000 square feet of research space added in Tampa; more than 5,300 square feet of an additional 11 inpatient rooms in Denver; an 8,000-square-foot expansion in Anaheim; expansion of the clinical footprint and therapeutic capabilities in Toms River; and buildout of dedicated negative pressure exposure rooms in Atlanta.
EXTRACTION
• Electroflow and Texas Membrane Restoration Co. (TMRCo) are partnering to construct a first-of-its-kind lithium extraction facility in Tooele, creating 10 new jobs in Utah over the coming years. The $5 million project was announced by the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. Partners involved in the project include Tooele City; the University of Utah; Terracon; Union Pacific; and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. A ribbon-cutting is planned for late May. Electroflow and TMRCo are advancing a new lithium extraction operation in Tooele City that applies an innovative electrochemical process to recover lithium from minerals already being processed from the Great Salt Lake and the surrounding region.
GOVERNMENT
• The Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL) has formed a task force to tackle the rise of sexual misconduct complaints against professional license holders. The task force will focus on professions that have historically received the highest percentage of sexual misconduct complaints: health care, mental health and massage therapy. To ensure a survivor-centered approach, the group comprises stakeholders from various sectors, including victim advocacy, law enforcement and professional associations. The task force will review current laws and procedures to pinpoint gaps and ensure a survivor-centered approach. DOPL will share resources and tools that result from the task force on its News & Resources page and announce changes that directly impact licensed professions to licensees via email.
• Utah Attorney General Derek Brown has said that Utah will continue to pursue litigation against Live Nation and subsidiary Ticketmaster despite a recent settlement announced by the U.S. Department of Justice. Utah is part of a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general working to ensure competition is restored for fans, performers and local businesses. Brown said the companies used their dominance to drive up ticket prices and limit competition.
INVESTMENT
• Rasa Legal, a Salt Lake City-based legal technology company making it simple and affordable for eligible people to clear their records and access new opportunities, has raised $5 million in a late seed funding round. The round was led by Rethink Education, with participation from Social Finance, Halogen Ventures, the Richard King Mellon Foundation and others. Rasa said the funding will enable it to expand its leadership team, accelerate product development, and scale its affordable criminal record sealing and expungement services across the U.S. Since it launched in September 2022, more than 26,000 people have used Rasa’s tools, and over 5,000 have successfully cleared their records. Launched in Utah, Rasa now operates in Utah, Arizona and Pennsylvania, with plans to expand nationwide.
PARTNERSHIPS
• Cornerstone Franchise Partners, an Ogden-based boutique franchise private equity platform focused on emerging service-based concepts, has announced a strategic partnership with Tarrybrook Partners LLC, a long-term investment holding company. The partnership aims to strengthen Cornerstone’s platform with additional expertise in relationship-driven growth, talent strategy and scalable franchise development, supporting the firm’s expanding portfolio, including its wholly owned brand, ClearSite Construction Services, a post-construction cleanup franchise. Cornerstone was founded in 2023. As part of the partnership, Tarrybrook principals Barry Herbst and Brian Schwartz have been appointed to Cornerstone’s board of directors. Through Tarrybrook Partners, Herbst and Schwartz will support ClearSite’s national expansion while also helping Cornerstone identify, evaluate and support additional service-based franchise opportunities aligned with the firm’s long-term strategy. In addition, The Elliot Group, through Herbst and Schwartz, has been named exclusive human capital partner to Cornerstone’s network of founders, operators and investors, providing executive search, leadership advisory and human capital support across Cornerstone’s portfolio of national franchised brands. Based in Kansas City, Herbst has extensive experience in business development, deal negotiation and relationship-led growth across founder-owned and private equity-backed businesses. He serves as managing director of growth and strategic partnerships at The Elliot Group. At Cornerstone, Herbst will focus on strategic partnerships, franchise development and expanding relationships with family offices, operators, and emerging brands. Schwartz has more than 15 years of senior-level executive search and advisory experience, with a focus on private equity-backed and growth-stage organizations across consumer, hospitality and service-based sectors. Through Tarrybrook Partners and his leadership at The Elliot Group, Schwartz will support Cornerstone with leadership strategy, talent alignment and executive advisory.
• Idemia Public Security, a Virginia-based company focused on secure and trusted biometric-based solutions, and Trinsic, a Salt Lake City-based company offering a digital ID gateway to verify identity in more than 30 countries, have announced a partnership to accelerate adoption of mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) across the United States. Trinsic will serve as an acceptance layer for Idemia Public Security-issued mobile credentials, enabling organizations to securely and seamlessly accept mDLs online during onboarding, authentication and identity verification workflows. The joint solution, once live, will initially support mDL acceptance in five participating U.S. states and will continue to grow in coverage.
REAL ESTATE
• Havenpark Communities, an Orem-based owner and operator of manufactured home communities, has announced plans to invest over $70 million in 2026 to further improve and modernize its communities nationwide. The planned investments will go toward infrastructure improvements and new or upgraded amenities that strengthen communities, including playgrounds; sports courts; community centers; and enhanced utilities, signage and lighting. In 2025, Havenpark invested $47.3 million in capital projects.
RECOGNITIONS
• Karen Aranki was recently named one of the Most Empowering Women to Watch in 2026 by Chief Women Leaders, a digital PR media platform that showcases outstanding women leaders and their business journeys. Aranki is senior vice president and chief human resource officer at Varex Imaging Corp., a Salt Lake City-based company that designs and manufactures X-ray imaging components, which include X-ray tubes, digital detectors and other image processing solutions that are key components of X-ray imaging systems, as well as X-ray imaging systems for industrial applications.
• Merit Medical, based in South Jordan, and Stryker, based in Salt Lake City, have earned 2026 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Awards for employee engagement. Winners are selected by a review panel and recognized for the effective work they’ve done this year implementing strategic initiatives to further engagement and help employees thrive. Gallup said Engagement winners weave employee engagement — an employee’s involvement in and enthusiasm for their work and workplace — throughout each stage of the employee life cycle. Stryker has also been recognized in the Strengths category. Strengths winners have workplace cultures that put the strengths of leaders, managers and employees at the core of how they work every day.
• Brown and Caldwell, a Cottonwood Heights environmental engineering and construction services firm, and ARW Engineers of Ogden have earned National Recognition Awards for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 59th annual Engineering Excellence Awards. The Brown and Caldwell award comes for the Davis Aqueduct Reach 1 Parallel Pipeline Project in Layton. Brown and Caldwell led the planning and design of the 2.2-mile, 72-inch-diameter steel pipeline, which is designed to withstand earthquakes in the seismically active Wasatch Fault Zone. Features include special joints and soil reinforcement that help protect against ground movement and landslides. To make the system more reliable, a pump station capable of moving 60 million gallons per day was added, providing a backup water source should the main line fail. The ARW award comes for the renovation of the McKay Education Building at Weber State University in Ogden. As structural engineer for updating the half-century-old, 70,000-square-foot facility, ARW Engineers was tasked to ensure structural integrity while also opening the exterior walls and the third-floor slab to allow more natural light into the interior. Innovative solutions such as reinforcing shear walls, replacing the concrete roof with a light steel system, installing carbon-fiber overlays for diaphragm continuity, and updating the exterior with brick veneer and curtain walls helped overcome a variety of structural challenges. The new facility features state-of-the-art classrooms, study areas, offices, a children’s school, and a digital maker space. Other participating engineering firms include electrical consulting engineers Colvin Engineering Associates (mechanical) and Ensign Engineers (civil). Judging for the awards program was conducted by a national 32-member panel of built environment leaders, along with experts from government, the media and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and excitement generated toward the engineering profession.
• MasterControl, a Salt Lake City-based provider of quality, manufacturing and asset management software solutions for regulated industries, has been recognized as a “Leader” in three independent analyst reports: the LNS Research 2025 Enterprise Quality Management Software (EQMS) Guidebook, the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Quality Management System Software, and the Verdantix Green Quadrant: Quality Management Software 2025. MasterControl achieved the highest potential score among all vendors evaluated in the EQMS Guidebook, earning the No. 1 spot in the independent research firm’s comprehensive Solution Selection Matrix. The company’s score tied for the highest rating in the category and positioned MasterControl in the “Front Runners” quadrant among 16 leading EQMS vendors evaluated across three critical dimensions: product, potential and presence. In the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Quality Management System Software, MasterControl was recognized as a “Leader.” According to independent research and advisory firm Verdantix, MasterControl scores well above average in training management and workflow and automation segments.
RETAIL
• Kenworth Sales Co., a West Valley City-based company that sells, services and supports commercial trucks in the Intermountain West and Mid-Atlantic, has established a board of directors to strengthen governance and guide long-term strategy. This formal board succeeds the company’s longstanding family board of directors, which has provided guidance and stewardship for more than 25 years. Dealer Principal Kyle Treadway will continue as chair, and is joined by independent directors Molly MacKay-Zacker, Adam Lawyer, C. Daniel Clark and Bob G. Sant. Treadway is a third-generation shareholder who joined the family firm as legal counsel in 1987 and became president in 2000. His education includes earning his J.D. from the University of Utah. Zacker is vice president of operations at MacKay & Co., a Chicago-based firm founded in 1968. She has decades of experience in industry research, operational leadership, client engagement and executive-level reporting. She is a frequent speaker and presenter within the medium- and heavy-duty aftermarket. Lawyer serves as chief investment officer for Sewell Automotive Cos., where he oversees strategic investment and financial planning initiatives. He is a Certified Public Accountant and previously spent 20 years as a partner with FORVIS Mazars (formerly DHG) Dealership Group, advising dealership organizations on financial strategy. Clark recently retired as head of vehicle and equipment finance at Bank of Montreal, where his responsibilities included transportation/equipment finance and auto dealer inventory lending. With more than four decades of leadership experience as a transportation finance executive, he also served as president of GE Capital Transportation Finance, managing director at Citi Capital Transportation Finance, and executive vice president at Associates Commercial. Sant is the corporate human resources director for Kenworth Sales, where he has served for 24 years. He previously worked 16 years in operations, safety and HR for CH Dredge Co. He earned a B.A. from Weber State University.
• Fitura Brands Inc., a Utah-based wellness holding company, has launched following an initial financing round at a $20 million pre-money valuation. The company is building a franchise-ready platform across three fitness sectors: racquet sports (Padel//SWT), athletic reformer Pilates (Core Precinct), and contrast therapy recovery (ContrasTheory).